April 21, 2024
Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
A pop quiz was given to a new class of nursing students in the first year of their training. Most of the students did well on the quiz until they came to the last question, which they all left blank. That question was, “What is the name of the woman you see every morning who cleans the school?” The students thought that the question was a joke until they found out that the professor was counting the question against them. When they protested, the professor said, “In your career, you will meet many people. All of them are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you can do is smile and say “hello.” The students never forgot the lesson, or the cleaning lady’s name.
To be a disciple of Jesus demands that we respond to every person the same way the Good Shepherd responds to all. Every person possesses the sacred dignity of being a child of God. Just as every baby born is the most important baby ever born, every person is a unique reflection of God and deserves our love and care.
This is the reason why the charity of the Christian must reach beyond his or her own family and friends, beyond the parish family and even beyond the family of citizens of their country. We must be concerned about those who are hurting, starving, suffering, or dying throughout the world. Thank you for the generosity you display whenever we have opportunities to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Boxes of joy come to mind.
It isn’t always easy to stay alert to the needs of those around us. We all lead busy lives going from one task to another, one appointment to another, one meeting to another. All this running around can make us oblivious to a neighbor who is down in the dumps. Parents can get so caught up in their kids’ hectic schedule that your kids have, they might not notice that one of their children has needs far greater than all the activities they participate in.
Following the Good Shepherd requires our never being too busy to be aware of and to respond to those around us who need help.
Here is another true story. Years ago, there was a terrible fire in an apartment building in New York City. A little girl was trapped on the fourth floor of the building, perched on a window ledge. To make matters worse, she was blind. The fire fighters could not maneuver the ladder truck in such a way to reach the girl, so they set up a net and told her to jump. Because of her blindness she was too terrified to move. Then her father arrived on the scene. He shouted to her that he was here taking care of her and that she should jump when he said so. The girl did and was so completely relaxed that she didn’t even break a bone or strain a muscle from the four-story fall. This was possible because she trusted the voice that she knew loved her.
In the busy-ness of our lives, noise, distractions, even calamities obscure the voice we need desperately to hear. That is the voice of calm, the voice of reason, the voice of assurance, the voice of unconditional and unqualified love. This is the voice of Christ speaking to us in the quiet of our hearts, in the love of our family and friends, in the cries of all calling out to us. The voice of the Good Shepherd calls out to us calmly and lovingly. He tells us to take the jump, to trust in him because he is taking care of us.
The Good Shepherd is the Risen Lord. He is with us. He will never leave us alone. Today we ask this Lord, to allow us to slow down and hear his voice.
Peace,
Fr. Steve